The Treasury of the Athenians

The treasury of the Athenians represents the earliest specimen of a Doric treasury made out of marble. The Athenians built the Treasury either after their victory at Marathon in 490 B.C. or even earlier, towards the end of the 6th century. On the Northern and Western side, scenes from the life of Hercules were depicted, whereas on the South and Eastern side scenes from the life of Theseus. The treasury of the Athenians is the best preserved monument of the Archaeological Site of Delphi. It is situated on the first turn of the paved way which led to the sanctuary of Apollo next to the bouleuterion of the city of Delphi. According to Pausanias' testimony, the Athenians built the Treasury possibly after 490 B.C., to commemorate their victory at the battle of Marathon. However, the style of the architectural sculptures decorating the monument has led scholars to suggest that its construction was accomplished at the end of the 6th or at the beginning of the 5th century B.C. It is possible that Pausanias mentioned as date of the construction of the monument the aftermath of the battle of Marathon, due to the triangular terrace, adjacent to the south wall of the monument, where Athenians had placed the booty of the battle, as we are informed by an inscription on its base:
Ἀθεναῖοι τ[ο̃]ι Ἀπόλλον[ι ἀπό Μέδ]ον ἀκροθίνια τε̃ς Μαραθ[ο̃]νι μ[άχες].
The monument constitutes the earliest specimen of a Doric treasury out of marble. It is distyle in antis, constructed entirely out of Parian marble. The gaps between the columns of the facade were closed with metal doors, as attested by holes on the two columns. It measured 6.57 by 9.65 at the lower part of the walls. The frieze had 6 metopes on the narrow sides and 9 on the long ones. The roof was made of marble painted in red colour. On the north and west sides, which were not visible to the visitors, heroic deeds by Hercules were depicted (e.g. the battle against Geryones, the Amazonomachy), whereas on the south side there were scenes from the life of Theseus and on the east one, Amazonomachy. The triangular terrace along the south wall of the monument is made of poros stone covered by grey limestone.
From the 3rd century B.C. onwards, the walls of the treasury were covered with about 150 inscriptions, making thus the monument a kind of archive for the city of Athens. Large part of these inscriptions is related to rituals, such as the Pythaid, the official embassy of Attica to Delphi, which took the form of ritual procession in honour of the god Apollo. Other inscriptions record specific privileges of people or professional groups, or, finally, they fall in the well-known category of manumission inscriptions, which are so common in Delphi. However, the most important inscriptions are those recording two hymns to Apollo, kept today in the Museum of Delphi.
The treasury of the Athenians was restored between 1903 and 1906 at the expenses of the Mayor of Athens Spyros Merkouris. During its restoration, plaster copies of the metopes were constructed, which were incorporated in the monument, whereas the initial ones were conserved and exhibited in the Museum of Delphi. A more recent restoration of the treasury was accomplished by the Ministry of Culture in the 2000s.